Personal Development for Leadership

and Strategic Management

Lecture 4-Part 1
Chapter 5
Power
Learning Objectives
• Define power, its consequences, and its
cultural roots
• Apply the different sources of individual
and team power to achieve goals
• Explain the sources and process of
power abuse, corruption, and destructive
leadership and how to prevent them
• Analyze the changes in use of power and
the development of empowerment, and
explain their consequences for leadership
 The Leadership Question

 Power is essential to leadership. Can also be abused?

 How can leaders use power to get things done without becoming

autocratic or abusive?
 Definitions
• Power: the ability of one person to influence others and exercise control over them

• Influence: the power to affect the course of an action

• Authority: the power vested in a position

 Impact of Power on Power Holder
• Those who have power tend to be more action oriented. may show more
interpersonal sensitivity toward others ,focus on rules rather than
outcomes

• There may also be some negative consequences. Those with power may
concentrate on retaining their power and acquiring more may start
believing that they are more in touch with the opinion of others than they
actually are, or may develop an addiction to power
 Potential Reactions to Individual Sources of Power
The consequences of power on followers depend to a great extent on the source and manner in
which leaders use it. The three most typical reactions to use of power and attempts at
influencing others are commitment, compliance, and resistance.
1- Commitment happens when followers welcome the influence process and accept it as
reasonable and legitimate.
2- Another potential reaction to power is compliance. In this case, although followers accept the
influence process and go along with the request, they do not feel any personal acceptance or
deep commitment to carry out the order. Subordinates go along with their boss simply because
they are supposed to
3-The third possible reaction to power is resistance. The target in this case does not agree with
the attempt at influence and either actively or passively resists it.
Potential Reactions to Individual Sources of Power
 Distribution of Power and Culture
• The more equal the power distribution in an organization, the higher the
performance
• At the other extreme, much research indicates that being powerless has many
negative consequences for both the individual and the organization When
individuals feel powerless, they are likely to become resentful ‫استياء‬, may become
passive-aggressive, and may even retaliate
• Culture strongly impacts the perception and use of power
• In high-power distance culture, expectations of power sharing are low
 Individual Sources of Power
Two sources of power

1. Position/Formal power :

Based on an individual’s position in an organization.

2. Personal power:

Comes from an individual’s unique characteristics


Legitimate
This comes from the belief that a
person has the formal right to make
demands, and to expect compliance
and obedience from others.
Referent
This is the result of a person’s
perceived attractiveness,
worthiness, and right to respect
from others
Leader’s power sources
Reward
This results from one person’s ability to
compensate another for compliance.
Coercive
This comes from the belief that
a person can punish others for
noncompliance.
Expert
This is based on a person’s superior
Personal power
skill and knowledge.
Individual Sources of Power
 The Dark Side of Power: Abuse, Corrupt
and Destructive Leadership
Abuse:
Taking advantage of one’s power for
01 Abuse
personal gain; unethical, but not
always illegal

Corruption: 03

:
abusing one’s power to benefit oneself or

Co

hip
ead or
another person; both illegal and unethical

ic l tive
rr

ers
up

tox struc
tio
n:

De
Destructive or toxic leadership:
leadership that violates the interest of the 02
organization and the well-being of followers

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Power Abuse and Corruption Cycle
 EMPOWERMENT: THE CHANGING FACE OF POWER
• One of the major forces for cultural and structural changes in
organizations comes from the empowerment movement.

• Empowerment involves sharing power with subordinates and

pushing decision making and implementation power to the
lowest possible level.

• Its goal is to increase the power and autonomy of all

employees in organizations

• Such power sharing provides people with confi- dence in their

abilities and enhances their sense of effectiveness
 Requirements of Empowerment
• Once managers and leaders decide to adopt and implement empowerment as a management technique,
they must adjust the culture and structure of their organization.

• Many managers talk about empowerment, but few fully accept the concept and implement it completely.

• Several leadership and organizational steps must be taken to implement empowerment

THANK YOU